‘Don’t panic . . . empower your child online’

Share via

Tanya Byron said risk taking was a natural part of child developmentJon Enoch/The Times

Katie Gibbons

Last updated at 12:01AM, March 21 2014

Children should be encouraged to take risks online as “moral panic” among middle-class parents is stymying emotional development, one of the country’s leading child psychologists has said.

Demonising social media and imposing strict limits on online gaming for teenagers is failing to build “emotional resilience” to turn them into “responsible digital citizens”, Tanya Byron told a conference for 200 head teachers of independent schools.

In countries where adult online activity is high, the rate of internet and gaming addiction among children and adolescents is greatly reduced, according to a study by the EU Kids Online research network.